ITV

Tag: broadcasting business

  • Sony Group’s media networks biz in India grows in Q2 FY21

    Sony Group’s media networks biz in India grows in Q2 FY21

    Mumbai: Sony Group Corp has released its financial results for Q2 FY2021 that ended on 30 September. The media conglomerate reported that Sony Pictures Entertainment’s (SPE) Indian business, which includes video distribution service SonyLIV and its leading broadcasting business, accounted for slightly less than 40 per cent of the sales of media networks in Q2.

    Its pictures segment saw a 40 per cent increase year-on-year in sales, primarily attributed to increase in sales of television productions and media networks. The sales for the pictures segment stood at $612 million. The company also reported higher advertising revenues in India YoY.

    Last month, the company signed a non-binding term sheet to merge a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel), a media company in India. Under the proposed merger, SPE would hold a majority stake in the resulting merged entity.

    Under the term sheet, the two parties are conducting mutual due diligence and Zeel has agreed to negotiate exclusively with SPE for a period of 90 days with the goal of reaching definitive agreements.

    “India has an economic base that is rapidly growing, primarily among the younger generation, and it is the largest linear TV market in the world that is still growing. In addition, the opportunity for digital distribution services is beginning to grow rapidly due to improvements in India’s communication infrastructure,” it said in a statement.

    “As a growth area in the pictures segment, we plan to continue to proactively seek opportunities to expand this business by using the profitability of the TV broadcasting business and our content assets to strengthen our digital distribution service,” it added.

  • ZEEL’s consolidated revenue stands at Rs 2048.7 crore in Q3 FY20

    ZEEL’s consolidated revenue stands at Rs 2048.7 crore in Q3 FY20

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 31 December 2019 on Tuesday. For the third quarter of FY20, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs.20,48.7 crore. EBITDA was Rs.5,65.8 crore with an EBITDA margin of27.6 per cent.

    During the third quarter, ZEEL's consolidated advertising revenue declined by 15.8 per cent YoY to Rs. 12,30.8 crore. Domestic advertising revenues declined by 15.7 per cent YoY to Rs. 11,57 crore. Domestic advertising revenue was impacted by the continued slow-down in key consumer sectors.

    “As the volume growth for most consumer companies did not see any uptick during the quarter, they cut advertising spends to protect their margins. While the festive month of October saw a pick-up in advertising spends, the growth slumped post that. The growth was also impacted due to a higher base and the effect of conversion of two channels from FTA to pay in March. We believe that the worst phase is behind us and the growth should revert to normal trajectory from next fiscal,” ZEEL stated in a press statement.

    ZEEL's consolidated subscription revenue grew by 15.4 per cent to Rs. 7,13.7 crore during the quarter. Domestic subscription revenue grew by 21.7 per cent Yo Y while the International subscription revenue declined by 17.4 per cent Yo Y.

    During the quarter, the television network had an all-India viewership share of 18.2 per cent. While its regional portfolio increased its viewership share, share in the Hindi speaking markets declined.

    Zee TV maintained its weekday prime time leadership, but lost weekend prime time share and was the number 3 channel in the pay Hindi GEC segment during the quarter.

    The network’s regional portfolio had mixed performance during the quarter. Moreover, its maintained leadership position in the Marathi, Bangia and Kannada markets, with Zee Kannada further strengthening its leadership position, widening the gap over the nearest competitor.

    Viewership shares in Marathi and. BangIa markets declined during the quarter ehile Zee Tamil improved its viewership share, Zee Telugu witnessed a marginal decline. Zee Keralam, continued to gain share in the Malayalam market establishing itself as a strong contender for the number two position. Zee Sarthak regained leadership in the Odiya market towards the end of the quarter.

    During the quarter, ZEEL's International business revenue was Rs. 1,66.5 crore. The advertising and subscription revenues declined by 18.6 per cent YoY and 17.4 per cent YoY, respectively. 

  • Q2-2014: TV Today reports Rs 12.83 cr as compared to loss in Q2-2013

    Q2-2014: TV Today reports Rs 12.83 cr as compared to loss in Q2-2013

    BENGALURU: TV Today Network Limited (TV Today) reported a PAT of Rs 12.83 crore for Q2-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (-9.15) crore in Q2-2013. PAT for Q2-2014 was 0.7 per cent higher than the Rs 11.98 crore for Q1-2014.

     

    Its radio segment reported improved performance with a 27 per cent lower segment loss of Rs (-2.02) crore for Q2-2014, as compared to the Rs (-2.76) crore for Q2-2013 and 13.3 per cent lower loss as compared to the loss of Rs (-2.33) crore for Q1-2014.

     

    Let us look at the other results for Q2-2014 filed by TV Today

     

    Presently, TV Today runs four 24 hours news and current affairs channels, namely Aaj Tak, Dilli Aaj Tak and Tez in Hindi and Headlines Today in English.

     

    TV Today reported total income from operations of Rs 91.71 crore for Q2-2014, 36 per cent higher than the Rs 67.31 crore for Q2-2013 and three per cent higher than the Rs 88.85 crore for the immediate preceding quarter Q1-2014.

     

    TV Today’s TV broadcasting segment income from operations for Q2-2014 at Rs 87.62 crore was more than a third higher (higher by 35.2 per cent) than the Rs 64.56 crore for Q2-2013 and almost flat (two per cent higher) than the Rs 85.89 crore for Q1-2014.

     

    TV Broadcasting segment reported a profit from operations of Rs 21.27 crore for Q2-2014 as compared to the loss of Rs (-3.19) crore for Q2-2013 and almost flat as compared to the Rs 21.18 crore for Q1-2014.

     

    Its FM radio broadcasting segment reported a 54 per cent higher income from operations for Q2-2014 of Rs 4.08 crore as compared to the Rs 2.65 crore for Q2-2014 and 35 per cent higher than the Rs 3.02 crore for Q1-2014. As mentioned above, loss for Q2-2014 from FM radio broadcasting business was much lower as compared to y-o-y or q-o-q.

     

    Q2-2014 Total Expense at Rs 73.54 crore was almost flat as compared to the Rs 73.31 crore for Q2-2013 as well as the Rs 71.27 crore for Q1-2014.

     

    Production cost for Q2-2014 at Rs 8.06 crore was 10.6 per cent lower than the Rs 9.02 crore for Q2-2013 and the Rs 9.03 crore for Q1-2014.

     

    The network spent about six per cent more in Q2-2014 towards Advertisement, Distribution and Sales Promotion expenses at Rs 22.93 crore as compared to the Rs 21.67 crore in Q2-2013 and 16.4 per cent higher than the Rs 19.7 crore in Q1-2014.

     

    The company says that it has made a strategic investment of Rs 45.52 crore in Mail Today Newspapers (Mail Today) for entering into print media. Though Mail Today is in the initial stages of operations and is presently incurring losses, the company is confident of its future and profitability and consequently of carrying value of the investment.

  • IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: It’s still early days yet considering the fact that the last Indian Premiere League’s (IPL), sixth edition was the first one for the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, but the IPL venture did erode Rs 30.79 crore or about eight per cent of the Rs 384.44 crore EBIDTA reported by the Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) broadcasting business in Q1-2014.

     

    As stated above, excluding IPL, EBIDTA for Sun TV for Q1-2014 was Rs 384.44 crore, up 19 per cent as compared to EBIDTA reported for Q1-2013. Including the IPL negative EBIDTA, Q1-2014 EBIDTA was about 10 per cent higher at Rs 353.65 crore as compared to Rs 322.97 crore in Q1-2013.

     

    Let us take a look at the numbers reported by Sun TV Network Limited

     

    Sun TV’s PBIDT (Profit before interest, depreciation and tax) for Q1-2014 grew by about nine per cent to Rs 367.04 crore from Rs 336.20 crore in Q1-2013. The network says that it’s PAT (excluding IPL) at Rs 184.78 crore grew about 12 per cent.

     

    Sun TV reported revenues for Q1-2014 of Rs 601.85, including Rs 98.54 crore from IPL, a growth of 41 per cent over the Rs 425.25 crore for Q1-2013. Its broadcasting business grew 18 per cent in Q1-2014 to Rs 503.31 crore as compared to Q1-2013, and by 5.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 477.67 crore during Q4-2013.

     

    At the time of writing of this report, Sun TV has not filed the exact numbers of the break-up from the various revenue streams that contribute to its broadcasting business; it has indicated the growth percentages of the major revenue streams through a release.

     

    The network says that its advertisement revenue for Q1-2014 was up by approximately 15 per cent to Rs 279.73 crore.

     

    Sun TV says that its subscription revenues continue to maintain an uptrend with its cable TV business growing by approximately 38 per cent and its DTH subscription revenue growing by about 20 per cent in Q1-2014.

     

    Sun TV paid Rs 85.05 crore towards IPL franchise fees, subtracting these fees from its total expenses of Rs 365.59 crore for Q1-2014, the channel’s expenses at Rs 280.54 crore jumped up 43.1 per cent as compared to Rs 196.05 per cent for Q1-2013 and were higher by 24.3 per cent as compared to the Rs 225.89 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    The network’s ‘Other Expenses’ for Q1-2014 more than trebled (up 261 per cent) to Rs 73.94 crore as compared to the Rs 20.50 crore for Q1-2013 and more than doubled (up 129.8 per cent) as compared to Q4-2014’s Rs32.18 crore.

     

    At its meeting held on 2 August 2013, the board of directors of the company have declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.25 per share (45 per cent).

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

     

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That’s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

     

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

     

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012’s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter’s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

     

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter’s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

     

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

     

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

     

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

     

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012’s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year’s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.

    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year’s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year’s 53.35 crore.

     

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012’s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year’s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

     

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

     

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group’s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

     

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • ‘The last 20 years belong not to Star but to Zee’ : Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea

    ‘The last 20 years belong not to Star but to Zee’ : Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea

    Peter Mukerjea became the CEO of Star India at a crucial period of satellite television history in India when the relationship between two media moguls Rupert Murdoch and Subhash Chandra had soured.

     

    led Star against India’s homegrown broadcasting business of Chandra and took its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Star Plus to the top in 2000, the position it still enjoys after he quit to try his hands at his own private equity-backed broadcasting venture.

     

    The former Star India CEO admits that the last 20 years of private television broadcasting belong to Subhash Chandra despite himself being at the helm of a significant piece of Indian broadcasting history by successfully leading Star India.

     

    In a tete a tete with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Mukerjea speaks candidly about how Chandra has outrun Star and Sony and today “runs the most effective broadcasting network, has a thriving cable business and was the first to launch DTH in India”.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    Q. Rupert Murdoch and Subhash Chandra started as allies and formed a joint venture. But this relationship turned stormy by the time you became Star India CEO. How bitter was it?
    The relationship with Zee was initially harmonious. But as News Corp started becoming more grounded in the Indian market and established its capability, Chandra’s views on Star, Murdoch and a multinational broadcaster changed.

     

    That in a way was inevitable to happen. So long as Star was in English and Zee in Hindi, the two companies operated in two ecosystems. The moment Star started Hindi content, Chandra saw it as a violation of the joint venture agreement and there was a major shift in relationship between the two partners.

     

    Q. And the beginning of the pay TV industry in India also helped in Chandra taking a hostile approach?
    Yes, it built a hostile environment. Alongside the personal stresses and strains, pay TV was becoming a reality in India. Murdoch has experienced pay TV in other markets and successfully developed it in his sprawling media empire. Chandra knew this.

     

    Though the two also ran an equal joint venture in Siticable (the cable TV outfit), there was mutual suspicion. The partnership became frigid and fell apart.

     

    I was in the hot seat as CEO. And the only way to progress was for Zee to buy out News Corp’s stakes in the joint ventures – which they eventually did. Having finished with that task, Star got an opportunity to do a total Hindi entertainment channel. Punit Goenka (son of Chandra and now in charge of Zeel and Zee News Ltd ) was a baby then and Chandra was running the company.

     

    Q. Were Chandra and Murdoch bitter even when they met after they split?
    Even when the meetings were pleasant, there was always tension in the background. Both were media moguls in different parts of the world and there was mutual respect. But it was always laced with a fair amount of rivalry.

     

    Q. In your early days as CEO, how did you find Chandra’s aggressive attacks?
    There were lots of questions put in Parliament and Star was accused of repatriating money from India and showing obscene content (Star Movies). Some of these were public petitions but we suspected that they were from our competitors. We, though, had no proof that they were Zee-backed.

     

     

    ‘Lobbying, having deeper pockets, being able to hire better executives – all these don’t matter. In love and war, all is fair. As a piece of history, it is Chandra who started DTH first in India. He has a strong presence in cable and runs the most effective broadcasting network in India. It is only in sports broadcasting that he needs an international partner‘

     

    Q. Murdoch always wanted to be the first to launch direct-to-home (DTH) operations in India. So what made Chandra beat Murdoch in this race?You can say it is because of lobbying or whatever. But the truth is that Chandra launched the first DTH platform in India. And he deserves credit for that.

     

    Q. Even Murdoch is known as a lobby master. Is that how you see this as a neutral proposition?
    Lobbying, having deeper pockets, being able to hire better executives – all these don’t matter. In love and war, all is fair. As a piece of history, it is Chandra who started DTH first in India.

     

    Q. So who would you say ruled the first 20 years of private satellite television broadcasting in India?
    The last 20 years surely belong to Chandra. He runs the most effective broadcasting network in India today. He has created an Indian product and has built a phenomenal international business with that content. He is the first to set up a regional-language network across India. And he has a strong presence in DTH and cable.

     

    Q. You say this even though you used to work in Star and later head it?
    Yes, you have to give credit to the man. He has worked so hard getting back, despite being knocked off in Hindi entertainment business in 2000. That was the time he expanded into different languages. Chandra has helped Zee stay probably as the largest broadcasting business in India today and as a publicly listed company. He had a longer part of the rule in these 20 years.

     

    Zee has outrun everybody else. It’s not Star, not Sony but Zee which is the leader of the pack. And this despite not having the backing of the multinationals which have an advantage in bringing truck loads of money. Look at the impact he has had in Indian society and entertainment culture. Zee has connected deeply with the Indians.

     

    Q. Do you see Chandra becoming a leader in sports broadcasting?
    He has to find an international sports partner. Though India is just cricket, he needs to step out of the base and bet much bigger. If he has higher risk-taking ability in sports and finds an international partner to provide richness in content, Zee will become a strong competitor to Star in sports broadcasting.

     

    Q. But didn’t he bid the highest for the ICC World CUP and also the BCCI rights?
    You can blame that on pedigree. The sad truth is that if you are a decision maker in allocating sports rights, you may go for a lower bid which has greater capability rather than give it to the one whose monetary bid was higher.

     

    Q. Chandra is now stepping into local languages in overseas markets like Middle East and Russia. Is the timing good?
    After building a solid business in India, Chandra is now stepping out to other parts of the world. There are great opportunities in eastern Europe or the entire Soviet Union country base. Parts of America are also a good hunting ground.

     

    I think it is a great strategy. Chandra has built the capability, the resources and the relationships. And it is not a bad time to strike. News Corp is going through a crisis and a lot of management time is wasted on external issues rather than businesses. Zee can capture market share and grow it.

     

    Q. Do you think Zee’s over-the-top (OTT) platform has a fair chance to succeed?
    There are serious rights issues and OTT is not still an open book. The bulk of the revenues in OTT is in the movie business. Chandra will have to wait it out. But it is creditable to pursue OTT and see it as a future growth business. Even in India, OTT will happen and grow alongside TV.

     

    Q. Would you have loved to work as CEO of Zee?
    That is difficult to say and I have never thought of it. I have never spent time with Chandra to understand him as an individual and what his goals are. A lot depends on the personal chemistry that you share with your personal boss. If goals do not match, then that relationship can’t work.

     

    Q. How much does an organisational culture matter?
    The promoter always brings a certain kind of personality into the organisation. But a lot depends on the CEO rather than the owner in influencing that culture; he brings his style and charm to the operations of the company.

     

    There are many critics who say the corporate culture in News Corp is not as wonderful as it is supposed to be. Citing the phone hacking issue, they say the organisational culture is wrong. There is, thus, no fixed solution to corporate culture.

  • ‘Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming’ : Sujay Kutty – Zee Studio senior VP, business head

    ‘Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming’ : Sujay Kutty – Zee Studio senior VP, business head

    The fight among the English movie channels is getting fiercer as new players have entered the battleground. Zee Studio has decided to go aggressive this year by upping its premiere runs on the channel. The plan is also to launch an original show every month.

     

    The focus this year will be to grow particularly in the smaller towns. Zee Studio is also launching a wap application to take advantage of new media opportunities.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Zee Studio senior VP, business head Sujay Kutty talks about the challenges of the English movie broadcasting business and the channel’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    With more players joining the fray, has the English movie genre seen growth in terms of viewership and advertisers?
    As of now, there are seven players in this market. With the advent of new players, the quality and variety of movies on the small screen has definitely improved.

     

    We will also see unique niches being created where you will have some channels showing big premieres and others sticking to popular titles which get ratings despite being aired many times like Terminator 2, Spiderman, Pirates Of The Caribbean.

    So will you be increasing your premiere runs on the channel?
    The number of premieres has grown considerably. We have 18 premieres lined up for the year with the likes of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler and How to Lose Friends – all close to their theatrical release.

    Is that the key to growing your share?
    Premieres bring an element of freshness to the channel and are definitely more saleable as the films have not been exploited earlier by other channels. Also, most of the satellite premieres we pick are scheduled very close to their theatrical release which helps in ensuring a quick recall in the viewers’ minds and helps create buzz around them.

    But isn’t sourcing big title content difficult as market leaders Star Movies and HBO have the big studios behind them?
    We buy content from all the major studios and have a great relationship with Disney, Warner and Sony. Also, we have done business with studios like Fox and NBCU in the past. Moreover, a lot of independent distributors have access to first runs. There are also cinematic gems from various festivals that we pick up.

    Is a trend emerging to spruce up the English movie channels with original content?
    There is a gap in terms of local content being done in this genre. Zee Studio has concrete plans to beef up its original programming. We will unveil our second product in October-November. A host-based quiz show around movies is on the cards. While talks are on with a number of production houses, it’s a little too early to discuss the show.

     

    The plan is to have one show every six months. If you do it more, then the novelty can get lost. We will get into many formats except reality shows. Original content helps connect with the consumers and opens up marketing opportunities.
    ‘With newer players entering the markets and major studios coming up with their own channels, content availability will be a source of concern‘

    How successful have you been in your earlier endeavour?
    As far as local programming goes, we already have Get Shorty, our short film contest for the audience. We ask aspiring filmmakers to submit their entries between 2-10 minutes in length. It is a four half-hour episode show. The filmmakers talk about their short film and why they made it. The jury includes personalities from the industry like Anurag Kashyap. Last time around 17,0000 viewers voted for what they felt was the best entry out of the 18 films that were aired.

     

    We are planning the third season for this show and it goes on air later this year. Currently, we are planning more shows with the basic aim of involving our audience.

    Your sister channel Zee Cafe tried localisation but the response was mixed. What lessons have been learnt from this?
    On the contrary, local productions always create talking points and an instant connect with the audience. We have got a positive response to Zee Café’s Café Mic Testing. The trick is to make the ‘homegrown’ content as interesting and unique as the shows we acquire abroad. With Café Mic Testing, we tried a unique blend of a talent hunt and a game show.

    But doesn’t your budget go up with local content?
    It does! However there are different ways to do local content. You can create a huge programme like a GEC. For us there is no need to be extravagant and have a big budget. Our aim is to get to a specific audience.

     

    The purpose is two fold. Firstly you create affinity for the channel among viewers by showcasing homegrown talent. Secondly you build local talent as a base that can be used for the future. The ad revenue that we earn more or less take care of programming costs.

    While the share of Zee Studio has gone up marginally, it is still in the fourth spot among the English movie channels. What is the gameplan to bridge the gap?
    Zee Studio has been in the third spot for more than three weeks now. Our strategy focuses on initiatives that help us create direct consumer connect. This can be done through out-of-home marketing activities, SMS, mailers and, of course, our film club.

     

    We intend to partner with film societies to showcase cinemas across metropolitan cities as an extension of our movie club initiative.

     

    In the coming times, we are also launching an application on Wap-enabled phones that will let viewers download our weekly schedules.

    Tam data shows that the time spent on English movie channels has gone up slightly. Zee Studio has also grown slightly but not much. What would you say are the reasons for this?
    With more channels entering the genre, a viewer has many more options to choose from. Moreover, viewers have a wider choice for entertainment that is not restricted to television alone. So the time spent is not likely to show a significant increase across any channel in the genre.

    Going forward, do you see viewership growth coming in from the small towns and cities or would metros be the main focus?
    There is potential in the small towns and cities as well. Our subtitling speaks to this segment of audience. It is about targetting people who understand English, but have difficulty following the dialect. Subtitling helps them associate what is being said to the story. We have, thus, built our second rung base in places like Jaipur and Gujarat.

    What role has subtitling played in growing the channel’s reach?
    We pioneered the initiative of subtitling for English films in India, starting it as early as August 2007. We realised that English is spoken very differently in different parts of the world, especially when you take into account colloquialisms, local slang and even sentence construction.

     

    Subtitles invariably aid the user in tiding over these differences and absorbing the film in its entirety. Post introduction of subtitling, our films have most definitely reached out to a larger audience base.

    What is the focus area of Zee Studio this year?
    This year our focus is on on-ground initiatives, Shut Up and Watch film Club (Saw) and Studio Nites, the movie song karaoke championship.

     

    Saw is aimed at taking quality cinema to the genuine movie enthusiasts across the country in the unique setting of a bookstore. Meanwhile, Studio Nites are evenings of ‘Karaoke,’ conducted at popular restaurants and clubs celebrating “music from the movies”. Here, patrons win prizes from the channel for singing along to movie soundtracks.

    What are the programming initiatives you have taken in the recent past?
    Over the last six months, Zee Studio has made constant efforts to bring its audience some great programming content. January saw three weekends with the telecast of High School Musical 1 and 2 and a back-to-back telecast of the two films with just one commercial break. To generate excitement around High School Musical, Zee Studio announced Music For Charity. This was an online auction of a guitar autographed by Farhan Akhtar, Luke Kenny, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal-Shekhar on its official website, www.zeedio.tv. High School Musical had an instant connect with the younger audience.

     

    Moreover, we created some properties keeping the audience’s needs in mind. One of these was ‘Two Timing’ where we would telecast two movies of a popular superstar back-to-back. The other is the ‘In Express Highway’ wherein a movie and its sequel are telecast back-to-back with just one break on Saturday afternoons.

     

    From 1 April, Zee Studio moved its primetime to 9 pm following research findings that a majority of the audience tune in at 9. April also saw the introduction of Sunday Noonatics. This is a slot for light/entertaining flicks keeping the relaxed Sunday mood in mind.

    What can we expect going forward?
    We plan on introducing new festivals every month to give the channel a fresh and ever-changing look. This month Zee Studio will air Desi Tadka, a festival of films with an Indian connect.

     

    September will have a lot of family movies. Going forward, viewers can look out for a Woody Allen Fest, Cinematic Jewels (critically acclaimed films) and more.
    In a genre that is title-driven, how big a challenge is it to build brand loyalty?
    At the end of the day, content is king. Marketing initiatives go a long way in driving brand awareness – be it on-ground initiatives, radio activations, print ads, hoardings, mobile marketing. They all ensure that a channel enjoys top-of-the-mind-recall when viewers are surfing the box for English movies.
    Some English film channels do programming blocks for different TGs. Others do not. What are the pros and cons of this?
    Programming blocks work well if one has a large library of films targeted towards each target group, absence of which results in repetition. It does help in clear communication, though, and also appointment viewing.
    To what extent have acquisition costs gone up in recent times with new entrants?
    It all depends on what you buy, keeping in mind the RoI as well as the channel image. So the acquisition cost keeps varying every year.
    What are the challenges that English movie channels face in India?
    With newer players entering the markets and major studios coming up with their own channels, content availability will be a source of concern. However, one has to wait and watch.
  • ‘We will disrupt the market with our content, distribution and marketing strategies’ : Kulmeet Makkar- Big Music & Home Entertainment CEO

    ‘We will disrupt the market with our content, distribution and marketing strategies’ : Kulmeet Makkar- Big Music & Home Entertainment CEO

     Anil Ambani is pushing hard the home video business to complete his presence in movie production, exhibition and broadcasting business.

     

    Big Music and Home Entertainment is targeting a revenue of Rs 1 billion by the end of this fiscal. The company has signed up four big Hollywood studios – Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount and DreamWorks SKG – for home video distribution, controlling 60 per cent of Hollywood content. The content strategy is also to grab rights for big ticket Bollywood movies.

     

    In an interview with Gaurav Laghate, Big Music and Home Entertainment CEO talks about the company’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    Why is the home video market still to explode despite the entry of several players?
    The home video market, which is a huge revenue spinner in developed markets, is yet to take off in India. In the US, this segment contributes to 55 per cent of the total filmed entertainment revenues.

     

    In India, this figure is not even six to seven per cent. Due to several reasons including piracy, home video is a very small segment. India is purely a theatrical dominated movie market.

    How does India shift to a strong home video market?
    There are several issues which need to be addressed in a country where the pirated market is as high as 85 per cent. The distribution system is also largely music-driven – the music companies are also home video companies. We need to change this as the profile of the home video audience is different from the audio music buyers.

     

    The hardware penetration of VCDs and DVDs is still not good. Home video companies also need to spend more money on marketing and distribution. This is beginning to happen and we will grow exponentially in the next few years. There are estimates that the Rs 8.3 billion market will grow to a size of Rs 15 billion by 2011-12.

     

    There is also a much disorganised movie rental market which is again driven by a high level of piracy. Only recently large operators like Bigflix, Seventymm and Nimbus have come up. This is good news for the sector as we will have more organised players in the rental business.

    Isn’t Bollywood still dominating the home video business?
    Bollywood and regional home video content garner around Rs 7 billion. The biggest player in the domestic market is Moser Baer, followed by Shemaroo and TSeries. In the Hollywood movie front, which fetches Rs 1.3 billion, we have rights to 60 per cent of the content.

    Will the home video market benefit from increased competition?
    The market will expand as more organised players step in. The focus will be on better distribution, marketing and packaging.

     

    So far, the video market has not been handled in an organised way. There was a 16-18 week window between the theatrical and home video release of a movie. Obviously, that window is shrinking now and consumers are getting to watch films through the home video chain much earlier.

     

    There is also better and more filmed content coming in as movie production companies are scaling up. The content availability on home video will, thus, be more.

    With prices dropping to the bottom of the pit, are businesses becoming unviable?
    Every company has its own business model. For Moser Baer, it makes sense to compete at low prices because they have a DVD manufacturing plant.

     

    Reliance also believes in mass distribution at a good and affordable price. Our strategy is to have various segments of content. We believe in premium content.

     

    For Hollywood content distribution in India, we have partnered with four studios – Warner Bros, Paramount, DreamWorks SKG and Universal. We have acquired rights of Ironman, Hulk, Babe, Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, The Dark Knight, Sex and the City, Mama Mia, among others. We are launching these films by January.

     

    We believe in creating or acquiring content which is premium, then localising it, and selling it at an affordable price. Indiana Jones in English, for example, will be sold with great packaging, value-added content and at a price which the target audience will not mind to pay.

     

    We will release the dubbed version in different languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The pricing will be around one-third of the English version content.

    We want to disrupt the market with our content, distribution and aggressive marketing. We will be promoting home video content as if we are marketing the film. We will not just be playing the pricing game. Pricing doesn’t drive the business, quality does.
    ‘We are looking at a turnover of Rs 1 billion by the end of this fiscal. About Rs 700 million will come from the home video segment‘

    Will you have a differential pricing model?
    Yes, this is a global practice. During launch, you will have a certain price; you will bring this down three weeks down the line. Welcome was initially priced at Rs 149 per DVD, and later we brought it down to Rs 49.

    What kind of promotions are you planning?
    It will be related to the size of the product. Today in home video, there is hardly any promotional spend. We are going to market this through TV, print, internet, out-of-home, on-ground and FM radio. We are taking a 360-degree approach.

    You have signed licensing deals with four major studios which were with Saregama. You also were a part of Saregama at that time…
    Reliance is a huge brand in India and outside. It is because of this that we got to ink these deals. We will also be pitching for Fox and Disney once their contract gets over with Excel.

    Do you have given a minimum guarantee (MG) or revenue share arrangement with the studios?
    We have given a MG to the studios. A certain part of it is also on an agreed revenue share proportion.

    How much will the home video segment contribute to Big Music and Home Entertainment?
    We are looking at a turnover of Rs 1 billion by the end of this fiscal. About Rs 700 million will come from home video, while music labels will contribute Rs 300 million. As ours is more of a new content company, 50 per cent of our music sales will be in digital (mainly mobile) form.

     

    We have Big Music, Big Home Video, Big Talent, and Big Music Publishing under the same company.

     

    The business model of Big Music Publishing will be announced soon while we have already rolled out Big Talent.

    What is the size of the music industry?
    The music industry is pegged at Rs 9 billion, of which Rs 6.5 billion still comes from physical sales while Rs 2.5 billion comes from digital sales.

     

    Piracy is hurting digital sales with file sharing, iPods etc. There is also leakage as the licensing business is not yet formalised.

    What is the content strategy for the company?
    We plan to acquire 40-50 per cent of the top ten films of Bollywood every year. We have acquired Welcome, Jodhaa Akbar, Singh is Kinng and Rock On.

     

    So far as music goes, Bollywood would still be the driver content. The new model which we are working on is artist management – we work with them not just on the music, but also build them as brands. We have signed Hard Kaur not only for albums and films; she will also be with us for live performances, events, brand endorsements, appearances on TV and radio.

     

    As a group, we can drive on the synergies. We can put an artist on Big FM or on our TV channels when they roll out. We also have Reliance mobile, Zapak and Big Pictures where we can promote them.
  • ‘CSI’ drives Alliance Atlantis’ 3Q results

    ‘CSI’ drives Alliance Atlantis’ 3Q results

    MUMBAI: Canadian television firm Alliance Atlantis Communications has reported revenue and earnings growth for the third quarter ended 30 September, 2006.

    The company benefitted from strong sales for the CSI franchise. In India CSI airs on AXN.

    Alliance Atlantis CEO Phyllis Yaffe says, “We are exceptionally pleased with the performance of the CSI franchise and the previously announced licensing of certain international second window rights which demonstrate the strong interest of CSI around the world .

    “In our broadcasting business, we were pleased with continued strong subscriber revenue gains as well as strong audience growth. While ad revenue was down slightly year over year, we are pacing well in the fourth quarter and in 2007 we believe advertising revenue will increase in line with the Canadian specialty television market expectations. Over the past 12 months, our advertising revenue is up seven per cent.”

    Broadcasting revenue of $66.7 million represented an increase of four per cent over the prior year’s quarter. Subscriber revenue grew by 10 per cent to $33 million in the quarter compared to $30.1 million in the prior year reflecting steady growth in paid subscribers. Advertising revenue decreased slightly to $32.1 million for the quarter compared to $33.0 million in the prior year due to slightly lower demand for ad inventory.

    In the entertainment segment, CSI revenue of $140.2 million was up $89.9 million from $50.3 million in the prior year’s quarter. The increase was primarily due to second window license fees recognized in the current quarter offset by a stronger Canadian dollar. The company recognises second window license fees from licensing arrangements with existing broadcasters of the CSI franchise when the company has fulfilled its obligations, which typically occurs ahead of the actual second window availability and payment of the license fees.

    During the current quarter, the company entered into several second window licensing arrangements with existing CSI broadcasters and recognised $91.3 million in revenue from these arrangements.